Friday, June 06, 2008

I've become quite the shop-groupie when it comes to One Queen's Folly. Last night Jane (the queen herself) participated in the "Friday Night Live" event, in which all the proprietors in downtown Woodstock stay open late, serve refreshments, and get to know their customers a little better. When I walked in to OQF, which we have come to call it lovingly in my casa, the sun was just beginning to set outside, casting that dreamy "magic light" into the floor-to-ceiling shop windows, illuminating all of my favorite things. I could hardly contain myself from snapping a few shots to try to capture what Jane has created there. Etta James' "At Last" oozed like honey from the speakers, lavender lemon drop martinis flowed merrily, a couple danced among the antique furniture, and women from everywhere shared great stories--stories in which they all know in their hearts that they are the main characters and their lives are the ultimate page-turners. Laughter rises up there instinctively, the kind of laughter I haven't heard since childhood.

I could never not photograph the statuesque doll I've named "Emily," who looks to me like an Emily Dickinson coming out of her attic to get a little fresh air.

And check out that "Shell Seeker" bucket in the Adirondack chair! It totally speaks to me of sand under my feet, salty air in my nose, and gull sounds in my ears. And my, oh, my, the vintage boxing gloves...they remind me that there might be a little fight in me yet.

Young, fun, and flirty, and in all that, hopeful. The apron that gives new meaning to "mistress of the household"...

1 Things not left unsaid:

I found a scarlet-red velvet J. Peterman cropped jacket at this second time around store in Harvard Square, and I DIDN'T BUY IT. AhhhH too late!!! It made me think of you, though. This store looks pretty sweet.

Jen Wanders Photography

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"Yes, the way I feel about being a woman in the South is the way I feel about the oleander that blooms in June: though it's said that the sap, even brushed against one's skin, is toxic, I carelessly break the branches, stick the ravishing flowers into my hair..."-- Rosemary Daniell